Contents [hide]

Spray History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Spray History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The illustrious surname Spray finds its origin in the rocky, seaswept coastal area of southwestern England known as Cornwall. Under the Feudal System of government, surnames evolved and they often reflected life on the manor and in the field. Nickname surnames were rare among the Cornish, they did occasionally adopt names that reflected the physical characteristics or other attributes of the original bearer of the name. The name Spray is a nickname type of surname for a person who is lively and alert. Tracing the origin of the name further, we found the name Spray was originally from the Old English word spray, of the same meaning.

Early Origins of the Spray family

The surname Spray was first found in Cornwall, at St. Anthony in Roseland, a parish, in the union of Truro, W. division of the hundred of Powder.

"The living is a donative, in the patronage of the family of Spry: the tithes have been commuted for £118. The church, beautifully situated on the border of a navigable lake separating this parish from St. Mawes, contains some handsome monuments to the Spry family, of which one, by Westmacott, is to the memory of Sir Richard Spry, Rear-Admiral of the White." 1 Alternatively, the family could have originated in Spreyton in Devon which dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was known as Spreitone. 2 3

Early History of the Spray family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Spray research. Another 308 words (22 lines of text) covering the years 1485, 1547, 1612, 1627, 1660, 1663, 1685 and 1796 are included under the topic Early Spray History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Spray Spelling Variations

Cornish surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The official court languages, which were Latin and French, were also influential on the spelling of a surname. Since the spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. Lastly, spelling variations often resulted from the linguistic differences between the people of Cornwall and the rest of England. The Cornish spoke a unique Brythonic Celtic language which was first recorded in written documents during the 10th century. However, they became increasingly Anglicized, and Cornish became extinct as a spoken language in 1777, although it has been revived by Cornish patriots in the modern era. The name has been spelled Spry, Spray, Spre, Spraye, Sprye, Sprey, Sprie and many more.

Early Notables of the Spray family

Another 46 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Spray Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Spray Ranking

In the United States, the name Spray is the 12,316^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Spray migration to the United States +

Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Spray, or a variant listed above:

Spray Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Christopher Spray, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1698 5

Spray Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mr. William Spray, (b. 1851), aged 36, Cornish miner departing from Liverpool aboard the ship "Aurania" arriving in Nebraska on 31 May 1887 6
Mrs. Polly Spray, (b. 1853), aged 34, Cornish settler departing from Liverpool aboard the ship "Aurania" arriving in Nebraska on 31 May 1887 6
Mr. James Spray, (b. 1876), aged 11, Cornish settler departing from Liverpool aboard the ship "Aurania" arriving in Nebraska on 31 May 1887 6
Miss Susan Spray, (b. 1877), aged 10, Cornish settler departing from Liverpool aboard the ship "Aurania" arriving in Nebraska on 31 May 1887 6
Mr. James Spray, (b. 1880), aged 7, Cornish settler departing from Liverpool aboard the ship "Aurania" arriving in Nebraska on 31 May 1887 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Spray migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Spray Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. George Spray, British Convict who was convicted in Nottinghamshire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Earl Spencer" in May 1813, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Spray (post 1700) +

Lester E. Spray, American Republican politician, Candidate for Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from Allegheny County 16th District, 1960
Judd Spray, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Michigan Democratic State Central Committee, 1969
J. L. Spray, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Nebraska, 2008
Elwin Spray, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Hawaii, 1972
James Michael Kenneth Tony Spray (b. 1992), English footballer

Historic Events for the Spray family +

HMS Repulse

Mr. Harold Frederick Spray, British Marine, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and died in the sinking 8

The Spray Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Soyez sage et simple
Motto Translation: Be wise and simple.

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to New York 1820 - 1891 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_new_york_1820_1891.pdf
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 8th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-spencer
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html